It's here: Lamborghini Aventador Roadster

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There are no buttons, no levers and no helper monkeys to magically whisk off the roof from this new Lamborghini Aventador Roadster, thus transporting you from the comfort of a V12 recording studio to a 700bhp open-air concert.

You have to do it by hand. That is, your own hands, and - probably - the hands of the person you are driving with.

This is because the new Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 Roadster, to give it its full name, features a two-piece, carbon fibre roof that needs to be removed manually, before being carefully stowed away in the front. But don’t worry, because it’s made from forged composites it’s very light, just 6kg. Lambo reckons it’s stowable in “just a few seconds”.

And you’ll want to make the fuss, because once off, you’ll be privy to what the rest of the world hears when you drive past. A 6.5-litre naturally-aspirated V12 engine producing some 700bhp and many, many torques. Lamborghini reckons that with the roof off, the new Aventador Roadster will go from 0-62mph in three seconds and hit a claimed 217mph.

The top speed apes the coupe’s, but the 0-62mph dash is but a tenth of a second slower. That said, if you can notice such a time gap, you’re probably not the target market for a big, V12-engined Lamborghini Roadster.

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There’s a new power rear windscreen that controls the airflow over the car - as well as determining exactly how loud you want that V12 - and a removable wind deflector to keep things cosy in the cabin. The rear pillars have been redesigned, while the engine cover features a new design too. There’s even a two-tone finish to the Roadster (including a metallic blue that references the 1968 Miura Roadster), along with new 20in and 21in lightweight, forged aluminium wheels front and back. They’re 10kg lighter, and only available on this car.

Have a click through the pictures. Lamborghini quotes €300,000 plus taxes, which is around £290,000 in the UK. The coupe costs £253,200, for reference. Fancy getting your hands dirty to enjoy one? Sure, as we’ve mentioned before, the V12 isn’t quite the snarling, raucous lion it used to be in the Diablo and Murcielago, but it’s still ruddy loud…

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